Multispecies Continuous Gas Detection With Supercontinuum Laser at Telecommunication Wavelength

Supercontinuum (SC) lasers provide an excellent opportunity for absorption spectroscopy by virtue of their high brightness and large bandwidth. Here we present the detection of multiple industrial toxic gasses from 1480 nm to 1700 nm, with a simple custom SC laser source. Using readily available optical components, we demonstrate an all-fiber system for the detection of ammonia (NH
₃
) and methane (CH
₄
) in a 2.4 m long hollow-core photonic bandgap fiber with 20-μm core diameter. The responsivity, selectivity, and performance of the system for continuous detection are demonstrated.